Pneumatic transport systems are well-known for the transport of pneumatic transportable material between, for example, a first location and a second destination of a plurality of interconnected pipes. A typical pneumatic transport system includes a number of pneumatic pipes interconnected to a conveying line such as a pipe-line to transport pneumatically transportable material therein. A material transport carrier for instance a fluid such as air flowing in the pipe-line is used as a carrier for transporting the pneumatic transportable material within the pipeline. Thus, the pneumatic transport system transports material under fluid pressure, being positive, negative or vacuum pressure. Often vacuum is used as conveyor in these pneumatic transport systems and they are therefore sometimes simply referred to as “vacuum conveying”.
Within pneumatic transport systems, such as vacuum conveying systems, one or more filters are used to separate conveyed material and the material transport carrier. Herein, this disclosure these filters are referred to as “separating filters”.
Typically, the separating filters used in the described transport systems are essential to obtain over time lasting functionality and performance in the transport system. During operation, the one or more separating filter(s) will be contaminated and typically over time an undesirable pressure drop over the filter will build up typically with a decreasing transport capacity as a result. Typically, some kind of conventional filter cleaning system is provided.
A pressure drop over the one or more separating filter(s) will build up as a result of the filter(s) being used over time and will typically cause a negative effect on the performance/function in the transport system. Typically the increasing pressure drop over the filter is because of particles of a substance (of a material) entering a structure or sticking to a surface of the separating filter and not being removed by the conventional filter cleaning system. Lack of replacement or at least proper maintenance such as cleaning of the separating filter can in worst case even result in a broken separating filter. If the separating filter breaks, the transported material, substance will for instance be blown out through an exhaust port of an ejector and contaminate the ambient environment. In the case of handling a hazardous material containing hazardous substances this can even be fatal for the operator.
Until now, none of the above problems related to pneumatic transport systems and related to improper maintenance of separating filters in such transport systems have been properly addressed according to our best knowledge.